Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor painting. It dates from 1090 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Executed as an opaque watercolor on a palm leaf, the piece functions within the genre of religious art to convey Buddhist themes.
Created in 1090 in India, this anonymous work is a religious painting that depicts Buddhism. Executed as an opaque watercolor on a palm leaf, the piece functions within the genre of religious art to convey Buddhist themes. While the specific narrative scene is not detailed in the available records, the work's classification and medium identify it as a devotional object intended to represent Buddhist iconography.
The small dimensions of the palm leaf format suggest it may have served as part of a manuscript or a portable object of veneration, emphasizing the spiritual significance of the subject matter over naturalistic representation.
Technique & Style
The work Untitled, dated ca. 1090, is executed in opaque watercolor on a palm-leaf support, a technique typical of early Indian Buddhist manuscript painting. The medium consists of pigment suspended in a water-based binder applied thinly to the fibrous leaf, producing a matte, translucent surface. The support, a rectangular palm leaf measuring roughly 5.7 cm in height and 57 cm in width, was prepared by smoothing and stretching before pigment application.
The painting depicts a Buddhist narrative, reflecting its religious genre. No condition data are recorded in the extant documentation.
History & Provenance
The work, an opaque watercolor on palm leaf depicting Buddhist religious themes, was created in India around the year 1090. Attributed to an anonymous painter, it is classified as a religious painting. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, catalogued under the accession number 55.121.36.12.
The artwork measures 5.7 cm in height and 57 cm in width. No specific commission details or pre-museum ownership history are recorded in the available documentation, though the work's inception is firmly dated to the late eleventh century within the Indian subcontinent.
Overview
This untitled painting, executed in opaque watercolor on a palm leaf, presents a serene depiction of a seated Buddha. The figure is distinguished by a golden halo, signifying his enlightened status. His hands are arranged in a delicate, circular gesture, while his eyes are rendered half-closed, conveying a state of meditative calm and inner peace.
Context
As a component of a larger textual and pictorial work, this painting is deeply embedded within Buddhist traditions. Such illustrated manuscripts were crucial for disseminating and preserving the teachings and life stories of the Buddha, serving as important devotional and educational objects within monastic and lay communities. The artwork reflects the rich visual culture associated with Buddhism.
Artist & collection
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Text, folio 165 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
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Text, folio 42 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)